In an era rife with fluctuating funding cuts, one non-profit organization is finding timely relief.
Sigma Beta Xi (SBX) Youth & Family Services, which has long been committed to empowering youth and transforming communities, is using recent grant funding from Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) to fuel several key initiatives.
“A lot of our funding is very restrictive even in the grant writing process,” said Darrell A. Peeden, Co-CEO and Board Member of SBX. “This grant allowed us to have some freedom and creativity. We’ve been able to implement the funding to not just focus on the need of the Black community and our Black youth, but to be inclusive of non-Black youth to start learning about empathy and finding a deeper understanding of the world outside of what they have experienced as a non-Black student.”
Peeden added that the funding allows its young people to lead and to fill in the gaps that they see are missing for their future, helping them design what they’d like to see and experience.
“It’s important for us to get young people in the front to lead,” he said. “That’s what we’re all about.”
SBX launched with humble beginnings at Rialto High School in Fall 1995 under the guidance of Earl Tillman and Kevin Clinscales. The goal was to create a unique leadership development program focused on self-discipline, self-confidence, and self-reliance, while also strengthening a commitment to society, family, and the community.
A few years later, the “Beta Club” morphed into Sigma Beta and eventually Sigma Beta Xi. In those early days, Peeden and other devoted souls ventured forth with a mission to actively seek out opportunities to make a difference, taking charge and addressing challenges head-on.
That collective vision transformed from a school project into a thriving nonprofit dedicated to youth empowerment.
Today, the nonprofit’s list of services is significant, ranging from youth development, housing, and workforce development to basic needs support, restorative practices, and wellness.
“I’d love for people to know more about the history of who we are,” noted Berenice Zuniga, Co-CEO and Board Member of SBX. “Darrell and I went to high school together and we were part of like that initial group of young people, and there’s been several young people that have done the same in the recent years where they’ve continued to have that community chapter on site at Rialto High School. Or, they’re in Moreno Valley starting workforce projects and really leading and partnering with the adults.”
“There’s a true authentic holistic partnership that alumni of this organization have with young people of all ages, our youngest being 9 years old,” she added. “A real sensitivity is evident. You can’t really express that in words or put it into a grant proposal. You must come and see it for yourself by being a part of an experience that we’re creating for the community.”
This is particularly evident in the nonprofit’s workforce development arm, where young people can gain experience through active participation at every level. Fostering economic self-sufficiency is key. One of the main questions the organization asks is whether “a young person doing it?” That approach, SBX feels, simply builds a more resilient community because it is empowering the next generation of leaders and professionals.
“It’s quite powerful,” Zuniga said. “One thing I don’t really get to share a lot is how this organization has completely transformed my life as a Latina woman. It has forever impacted the life that my children are going to have. This wasn’t just a moment where I can say, ‘Oh, I appreciate being part of this or that.’ It was literally just from those early interactions at Rialto High School that made a big difference.”
“Today, our relationships with our young people are lifetime relationships,” she added. “It’s not just a program or a season for them. This is an extension of their family and an opportunity for them to be involved in their communities in a much more impactful way.”
Learn more at sbxinc.org.
This story originally appeared in the Press Enterprise, November, 2025.
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